India Microfinance

NASSCOM – Emergeout conclave on 25th August 2010, Gurgaon

Mobile Internet and AppStore – The next big game changer for Startup/Emerging Companies

The 5th edition of EMERGEOUT beckons. This is one platform which the EMERGE community really looks forward to, which has added tremendous value to the SME companies. Not withstanding, even those outside the purview of small & medium have gained from some of the deep insights. It is almost becoming like the “Mecca” for Emerging players, where participants congregate to bounce off ideas and share best practises. This time, on 25th August in New Delhi, the focus is on how emerging and start-up companies can build economic value out of emerging web based social platforms, mobile and AppStore. What we plan to stage, is an interesting melange of the two which will also help us to look at future technologies in a whole new light. Interestingly, we are not just looking at business growth but something much beyond. How can we use internet, social media and mobile applications for not just the privileged few, but also the marginalised in society. How can this actually be a viable business proposition for service providers, to serve the bottom of the pyramid.

The traditional shrink-wrapped software business model is rapidly evolving in two significant ways. The server end is moving to cloud computing and SAAS paradigms with hosted storage, server virtualization and broadband internet achieving critical penetration. The client end is moving quickly to AppStores with mobile and smartphone devices providing the momentum. Software developers who have always had a challenge in marketing, sales & distribution of their software now have two powerful allies to distribute their products – cloud computing and AppStores.

The mobile AppStore – pioneered by Apple iPhone has become a phenomenon. Blackberry, Android, Nokia, Motorola have all launched AppStores. Telecom providers – Vodaphone, Airtel, ATT have also launched AppStores. Specialized application providers have their own stores. For a small software developer, the AppStore brings a great opportunity to be discovered and a fair chance of “trial” by a large number of consumers. Decent applications have a chance of getting picked up by community references and pick up significant number of users. At pricing levels of $0.99 to $4.99 the AppStore economy has turned software applications into consumer commodities and leverages the large mobile and broadband population to drive large revenues and profitability.

The AppStore economy has yet to hit India in a big way. While some Indian product developers have already published their wares to global AppStores, the true success will emerge once we have localized & customized apps for the Indian consumers on Indian AppStores. The telcos are already investing in the infrastructure. The handset trends are slowly inching their way to smartphone dominance. With the imminent launch of 3G services in the country, it is ripe time for blossoming of the AppStore economy.

Indian software developers and product companies are looking at the opportunities and bring new applications, utilities, content and connectivity to Indian mobile and internet consumers. The EMERGEOUT platform brings together over 300 CEOs of small and medium companies and offers a great platform to AppStore evangelists to invite the development community to join their efforts. We would love to have you present your roadmap, developer programs, business models etc.

The other relevant piece is the entire discussion on social networking. How does it help SMEs in any way? Is it mandatory to have a presence in this space? If so, what are the possible online branding strategies that companies should leverage? Are there exceptions to this rule? Should employees be allowed to use social networking during work hours and the HR policies that need to be put in place, to combat abuse. Unarguably it is a potent tool and can make or break reputations, and one has to tread the path with extreme care. The conference will address some of these questions and chalk out a path for future.

Key Highlights

Here’s a sneak preview of the 5th EMERGEOUT conclave and what you are likely to experience on 25th August in Delhi: